Mount, the spell.

[Aquillion]

Reading the Mount spell:

You summon a light horse or a pony (your choice) to serve you as a mount. The steed serves willingly and well. The mount comes with a bit and bridle and a riding saddle.

...so you summon it to serve you as your mount, but it serves you "willingly and well." How well?

Specifically, can you summon a light horse, then order it to fight for you? It is substantially better than anything on the Summon Monster I list (19 hp, 1d4+1 attack... not amazing, but beats Summon Monster I.) But, more importantly, even for a level 1 caster it will last 2 hours instead of the, oh, six seconds afforded by Summon Monster I. In wide corridors, it is, if nothing else, a much better way to search for traps, while also having a handy ally around to take a hit or two at low levels, and maybe land a few good hits itself.

I'm guessing the above don't really work, though; the horse is just a horse, and no matter how well it serves you, you still need a DC 25 Handle Animal check and a full-round action to push it into attacking. I still think that this illustrates how awful Summon Monster I is. But wait! We can still do something. (Well, we can still drive the horse in front of us to set off traps and maybe take hits from very stupid monsters, at least)

It says the horse comes with a bit and bridle, and the rules for summoning spells specifically say:

When the spell ends or is dispelled, a summoned creature is instantly sent back to where it came from, but a summoned object is not sent back unless the spell description specifically indicates this.

So you get to keep that. How much are a bit and bridle worth, anyway?

[boomwolf]

i don't think he fights.

[Aquillion]

Nevermind that. I noticed something much more important: Aside from leaving behind a bit and bridle, the horse also comes with a riding saddle. Riding saddles are worth 10 gp (the bit and bridle is worth 2 gp.) So you can make a total of 6 gp per casting, even without trying to cheat people by selling the horse.

[AslanCross]

A bit and bridle cost 2 GP.
The mount isn't a warhorse or warpony and will therefore panic in a fight. It will require some ride checks to get it to do what you want to do if you're in a combat situation.

Edit: furthermore, it does say it serves you willingly and well as a mount, not as an animal companion. Therefore it will take the regular handle animal checks to push it to attack. Furthermore, attacking isn't something it can do well.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

Summoned creatures do not leave their equipment behind.

If the spell was called Saddle and came with a horse I could see your point.

[Khanderas]

Maybe I am tainted by the Paladins summoned mount idea, but surely there are better summonable trapsweepers then a horse ?
As for taking and selling the saddle and bit, do not all changes to the summon rollback when the summon is dismissed/dispelled/runs out of time ?
Including but not limited to,
1. The summoned creature is if killed restored to life before going back
2. Any negative debuffs go away (poison what have you)
3. Bodyparts and blood also go away (like a chopped off spiderleg)

Especially considering 3, any equipment that the mount comes with, would also disappear when the mount does.

And if it does not, you be sure that the spell suddenly calls for a 20 gold material component

Edit: Noticed the differences in time between mount and summon monster.
If the time is important, put a couple sheep in a portable hole or something and use at your leisure. Unless the traps are poisonous it would double as rations.

[Aquillion]

Summoned creatures do not leave their equipment behind.

If the spell was called Saddle and came with a horse I could see your point.

Where does it say that? I'm not arguing, since it makes sense, but it isn't in the basic rules for summoned creatures, which actually seem to imply the opposite (summoned objects remain unless the spell says otherwise.) While spells end, nothing is said about equipment, other objects the spell summoned, and so forth.

(Although I suppose this particular brand of un-logic does lead to things like "I hack off the horse's limb. The limb is no longer alive, and is hence now an 'object', and remains when the rest of the horse disappears." Or summoning something, then petrifying it to keep it from going away, since it's now an object.)

Edit: Noticed the differences in time between mount and summon monster.
If the time is important, put a couple sheep in a portable hole or something and use at your leisure. Unless the traps are poisonous it would double as rations.

For trapsweeping, I was thinking more along the lines of its value at low levels (when portable holes are expensive.) At higher levels, you probably have better options anyway.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

Where does it say that?

It takes the FAQ to clarify the RAI.

What happens to a summoned monster’s equipment
when it dies or the spell ends? What if it’s not carrying the
equipment any more? What if it’s carrying something new?

When a summoned creature goes away, so does everything
it came with. If it’s holding or wearing something it didn’t
appear with, that item drops to the ground in the creature’s
space after it disappears.

[mostlyharmful]

If you're looking to use it at low levels then there are better ays of getting trap sweeping than using up one of your few spell slots. Just buy twenty sheep and pay a shepherd boy to move them around for you. Lots of food and lots of trap sweeping for little real investment.

[Person_Man]

Mount is a great way to detect traps. However, if you use mount in this fashion, it almost always alerts everything in the dungeon that there's danger at their entrance. They can then attack the PC's en masse, or go out the back door and ambush them from behind. So you don't take damage from traps, but then you're at a huge tactical disadvantage.

[TimeWizard]

But a better tactical advantage then you alerting the whole dungeon by triggering the trap on yourself.

[CASTLEMIKE]

See if your DM will let pay the research to discover the level 2 original spell War Mount.

A War Dog would probably be a level 1 spell.

[CASTLEMIKE]

I remember seeing a spell that "trains" animals for a period of time. Don't remember the specifics but believe it was a first level divine (druid) spell. Not sure if it would work on a Mount as a summoned creature but worth a look if anyone recalls the spell name or source book.

[Mewtarthio]

I remember seeing a spell that "trains" animals for a period of time. Don't remember the specifics but believe it was a first level divine (druid) spell. Not sure if it would work on a Mount as a summoned creature but worth a look if anyone recalls the spell name or source book.

That's second level. I'm not sure if burning a first- and a second-level spell is worth it.

[CASTLEMIKE]

That's second level. I'm not sure if burning a first- and a second-level spell is worth it.

Do you recall the name and or source book of the spell? Thanks.